1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a global information providing system which presents accurately, and in real-time, information on the static and dynamic conditions of, and changes in, the earth (hereafter referred to as "global information") such as the condition of equipment, roads, and moving objects on the ground, the condition of the surface of the earth, and the condition of the atmosphere and the sea as well as geographical information on land and marine regions.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
A considerable number of satellites are currently in static or dynamic orbit around the earth, such as global positioning satellites (GPS), weather observing satellites (e.g. Himawari), hereafter referred to as "weather satellites", and remote sensing satellites (e.g. Landsat), each transmitting relevant information to earth. This information is widely employed in applications such as weather observations and as weather information, car navigation systems, or for military purposes, and geological and marine surveys. Aerial photography has been employed for a considerable time as an effective means of obtaining geographical information, and images from video cameras are used in the analysis of such structures as bridge piers and buildings.
Typical examples of global information sources, and their applications, are shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1 __________________________________________________________________________ Global positioning Remote sensing satellites Weather satellites satellites Aerial photography Video __________________________________________________________________________ Urban planning .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. National land .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. planning Forestry .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. management Ocean management .smallcircle. .smallcircle. Environmental .smallcircle. .smallcircle. management Natural resource .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. surveys Road management .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. .smallcircle. Management of .smallcircle. .smallcircle. buried equipment and facilities Land ownership .smallcircle. .smallcircle. management __________________________________________________________________________
These sorts of global information are used according to each purpose, however they are subject to limits in accuracy and processing speed due to the systems of measurement and data processing employed. Global information data from satellites must be batch-processed, so that real-time information on changing phenomena associated with moving objects, the condition of the earth's surface, the atmosphere, and the sea etc are not available. Conversion of aerial photographs into electronic data requires extremely expensive equipment for analysis and generation of charts, and skilled operators, with the result that information becomes extremely expensive. Processing of global information data by software requires complex equipment, and considerable time is required for computation.